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William is protective of his father, defending him against criticism he has often faced. Naming his daughter after the prince will be seen as a clear public demonstration of his love of Charles.

Charlotte, who was born on Saturday at St Mary's Hospital in London weighing 3.7kg, is also named after Kate's sister Pippa Middleton, who has Charlotte as her middle name. In French, it means "petite" and "feminine" or "free man".

In royal history, George IV named his only child Charlotte, but she died in childbirth at 21. George III's wife was Queen Charlotte, who was born 1744.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge reportedly decided on a name for their daughter shortly after the birth but wanted to inform the Queen personally before it was publicly released.

There is no protocol which says the monarch needs to be consulted about the name of a newborn in the family, and senior royal sources stressed she has no expectation of being informed in person before the princess's name is made public.

However, William, who has grown especially close to his grandmother in recent years, apparently decided to afford her the honour when they met in Sandringham.

Today, the newborn was reportedly set to meet her great-grandmother, the Queen, when the family left Kensington Palace to embark on a new life in Norfolk, where the monarch is in residence.

They had introduced the little girl - the most senior royal princess to be born for 65 years - to her brother George and to their families yesterday.

The newborn may herald a new generation in the monarchy, but it is customary for royals to look to their past for name ideas. The repetition of names in each generation is at least partly an effort to preserve the continuity of one of the world's oldest institutions.

Huge payout

For weeks, bookmakers had been saying that Alice was the clear favorite. But in recent days Charlotte, the feminine form of Charles, has also swayed at the number one spot.

When the baby's older brother, Prince George, was born in 2013, the royal couple took two days to reveal his name, waiting until after the Queen had met her new great-grandson.

Before the princess's name was revealed, Coral had slashed the odds on Charlotte into 5/2, making it the favourite ahead of Alice.

Although Alice and Olivia also proved popular in the betting, Charlotte emerged as the bookmakers' worst result, attracting a huge gamble in recent days.

"After punters had already correctly predicted a girl, we were praying Will and Kate would opt for anything but Charlotte, Alice or Olivia," said one bookmaker.

"As if Saturday's pay-out wasn't enough, we've now had to double it today making this one of the most costliest results in royal betting history."

Despite the couple's choice of Charlotte, it seems the popularity of the name has dipped in recent years.

In the UK, Charlotte was ranked 21st in the Office for National Statistics girls' names statistics of 2013, with 2,242 births. It had dropped 12 places since 2003.